DoD and RFID: Take two

By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 5/17/2005

Just as Wal-Mart discovered, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has found that the path to RFID implementation is not always a straight one.

The DoD’s original mandate required vendors who signed new contracts in October 2004 to begin tagging only troop-support materials in January 2005 for delivery to just two distribution facilities in Susquehanna, Pa. and San Juaquin, Calif. Troop-support materials include repair parts, body armor, helmets, trenching tools and meals ready to eat (MRE).

That did not happen. The delay is attributable to the federal rules making process which offers the public the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes in DoD contracts, according to according to Alan Estevez, assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for supply chain integration (703-604-0098).

On April 21 that process got rolling when the DoD published a proposed DFAR (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation) for passive RFID. Once approved, the DFAR will provide a common roadmap for RFID compliance that can be inserted into every contract.

This process gives the public 60 days to review and comment on the proposed regulations. Following the comment period, the DoD will have 30 days to reconcile those comments and publish a final regulation. The approved DFAR will then be disseminated to contracting officers this summer.

Estevez says that ultimately, the DFAR will mean that every supplier will be providing a common RFID solution. “We could’ve written a memo that DoD contracting officers could have inserted into a contract,” says Estevez. “By doing it as a standard contract clause, we will have consistency. With a change like this, we wanted consistency in business process applications and not one-offs.”

Despite the delay, Estevez says the facilities in Susquehanna and San Juaquin were reading passive RFID tags on support parts supplied by Lockheed Martin and Boeing as of January. However, those were done on a voluntary basis.

While many comparisons have been made between the Wal-Mart and the DoD mandates, Estevez says the two organizations are tagging very different products.

“Wal-Mart is focused on CPG products,” explains Estevez. “Our initial mandate is focused on troop-support items. Our requirement for CPG doesn’t take effect until 2007.”

While the DFAR regulations are still to be approved, Estevez says the DoD is also phasing in RFID systems in the remaining 16 depots and three aerial ports in the Continental U.S. In addition, tagged product from Susquehanna will soon be shipped to Iraq as well as bases in Norfolk, Va. and Camp Le Jeune, N.C.

The Radio Frequency Identification DFARS Case 2004-D011 Proposed Rule can be accessed by clicking here.